Running Away

A Story by elamarillo

A short piece of writing from a few years back, initially inspired by Madonna's 'Mer Girl.' I'm thinking of adding to it.

Rain drops slid down my taxi yellow raincoat, as I made my way to my destination. Ever blinded by the confusion within me, and my soul that ever speaks. I knew not what to do. Perhaps, maybe, there was a slight chance. A ray of luck shining onto my face,
calling out my name,
teasing me.
Maybe I was delusional.

I kept on running and running, my footsteps marking my path in the mud below my feet. Each footstep was accompanied by a slopping sound. Slop slop slop; the sound of me running. I could hardly concentrate as I made my way, my vision becoming blurrier, unaided by the pouring rain.

I had no sense of time nor direction, I was indeed a free spirit wandering aimlessly, as if I were floating in the vastness of a dream. I remembered why I'd done this, why I'd ran away. I ran far, far away to no longer endure the eternity of human consequences and of the evil that had been birthed inside of me. I found a place where no place could be found, and thus I'd found my true calling. The lord of Hell had been calling, saying my name, tempting me. I felt my self descending deeper and deeper into the flames of his lair, the sweat dripping from my soon-to-be corpse. It was my only chance at fighting it, at extinguishing the flames. It was too late, I felt my body merge with fire.

I was still running. My return to reality had struck me like a lightning bolt. It didn't strike me quick enough - I fell flat-faced into the mud where my feet were meant to tread, with a great slop, like the final conclusive chord of an opera's grand finale. My fall had assured me that I was no longer part of a boundless, infinite dream nor hanging above the flames of Hell. I could feel the slippery texture of the mud on my face, not wanting to get up. A realization had come to me then and there, almost like an epiphany. I was living in a very real world, with very real problems. The very problems I'd run away from, not knowing where life would take me. Actually, it pushed me down flat on my face on the muddy ground. It was as if life were the elementary-school bully, laughing victoriously at its ability to conquer me and put me under its influence. I might as well have been in the middle of nowhere.

I choose not to free my face from the ground, my mind as blank as the pallidity on a fresh piece of paper. I managed to pose a question to myself; was I dead? I wouldn't have known it if I were. It felt as though the weight of a thousand pounds has been placed on my back as I tried to get back up on my feet. With slow movements of my body, I managed to accomplish this seemingly incredible feat. I made an extra effort to wipe the mud off of my face.
"I must look like s**t right now," was the second thought I had after I'd experienced an 'epiphany'.
"Where the hell am I?", the third.

I managed to mouth the words "Oh, God, where am I", not yet having regained the strength to speak. I was in pure shock, that much I knew.